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May (2002)
Genuinely Effective
Directed By: Lucky McKee
Starring: Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, & Anna Faris
MPAA Rating: “R” (for strong violence/gore, some sexuality and language)
Starring: Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, & Anna Faris
MPAA Rating: “R” (for strong violence/gore, some sexuality and language)
I had heard about May ever since it was released, but I never got around to seeing it until just now. May is one of the few horror films that connected with critics and genre fans alike. It was praised for its psychological aspects and its genuine creepiness, but most of all for Angela Bettis as the titular character. Bettis is one of the most underappreciated actresses working today and her talent is on vivid display here. If this was a slasher flick, Bettis would be the slasher...but she is far too good here to fall in the same category as the obsessed maniac from Prom Night (2008) or the demented family from House of 1000 Corpses. Instead, she pulls the film from being cheap slasher fare to being a darkly-humorous psychological character study.
May Canady (Bettis) never had a happy life. She was isolated from her school friends because of a patch that covered her lazy eye...but her mother tried to fix this by giving her a doll housed in a glass box. May grew up with this doll as her only friend, until she meets Adam (Sisto), the “perfect” guy who doesn’t seem to mind the fact that she is obsessed with his hands and rarely speaks. In fact, Adam likes weird or so he says...but he doesn’t know just how weird May is. May also grows close to her coworker, Polly (Faris). Polly is a lesbian who is attracted to May. She also does not seem to mind the fact that May is weird. When May’s doll is accidentally destroyed, she becomes desperate to make a new friend and, as her mother said, “If you can’t find a friend, make one!”
May begins on an air of happiness...perhaps not happiness, but contentment. May is lonely, but she does not necessarily seem to mind. After all, she has her doll and the doll keeps her company. The film progresses through her various encounters, especially those with Adam and Polly. Her relationship with Adam grows from awkward yet tender to awkward yet dark when a sexual encounter ends with May getting a little too rough for Adam’s comfort. The film descends evenly and constantly to a place of darkness that is almost unimaginable. Whereas most horror films use their violence to shock or even excite audiences, May uses it to disturb and to terrify. Once May commits unspeakable actions in the name of friendship, we finally see the true horror that resides within her mind and, though it seems so sudden in the film, we realize that the entire first three-fourths had been leading us to such violence.
I kept expecting May to resist its natural progression, to succumb to the temptation of becoming typical Hollywood fare, but it never does. May is a bold film, never sacrificing its own genuine nature in favor of becoming a safe film. Once the violent and blood-soaked final act kicks in, we are treated (well, perhaps “treated” is not the correct word) with scenes that are, quite simply, terrifying. They are a stark contrast to the more subdued feeling behind the rest of the film, but Angela Bettis and Lucky McKee (a pairing that can only be described as perfection) make this transition seem so natural and even more disturbing. It’s easy to see why May never received a wide theatrical release (it did have a limited one), though it certainly deserves one. Studios seemed to be determined to choose safer projects and May never even pretends to be safe. This is a bold, brutal, and truly disturbing psychological film.
May Canady (Bettis) never had a happy life. She was isolated from her school friends because of a patch that covered her lazy eye...but her mother tried to fix this by giving her a doll housed in a glass box. May grew up with this doll as her only friend, until she meets Adam (Sisto), the “perfect” guy who doesn’t seem to mind the fact that she is obsessed with his hands and rarely speaks. In fact, Adam likes weird or so he says...but he doesn’t know just how weird May is. May also grows close to her coworker, Polly (Faris). Polly is a lesbian who is attracted to May. She also does not seem to mind the fact that May is weird. When May’s doll is accidentally destroyed, she becomes desperate to make a new friend and, as her mother said, “If you can’t find a friend, make one!”
May begins on an air of happiness...perhaps not happiness, but contentment. May is lonely, but she does not necessarily seem to mind. After all, she has her doll and the doll keeps her company. The film progresses through her various encounters, especially those with Adam and Polly. Her relationship with Adam grows from awkward yet tender to awkward yet dark when a sexual encounter ends with May getting a little too rough for Adam’s comfort. The film descends evenly and constantly to a place of darkness that is almost unimaginable. Whereas most horror films use their violence to shock or even excite audiences, May uses it to disturb and to terrify. Once May commits unspeakable actions in the name of friendship, we finally see the true horror that resides within her mind and, though it seems so sudden in the film, we realize that the entire first three-fourths had been leading us to such violence.
I kept expecting May to resist its natural progression, to succumb to the temptation of becoming typical Hollywood fare, but it never does. May is a bold film, never sacrificing its own genuine nature in favor of becoming a safe film. Once the violent and blood-soaked final act kicks in, we are treated (well, perhaps “treated” is not the correct word) with scenes that are, quite simply, terrifying. They are a stark contrast to the more subdued feeling behind the rest of the film, but Angela Bettis and Lucky McKee (a pairing that can only be described as perfection) make this transition seem so natural and even more disturbing. It’s easy to see why May never received a wide theatrical release (it did have a limited one), though it certainly deserves one. Studios seemed to be determined to choose safer projects and May never even pretends to be safe. This is a bold, brutal, and truly disturbing psychological film.
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